Pawan Kalyan's political party distances itself from Jani Master after she filed a complaint alleging sexual assault

Pawan Kalyan's political party on Jani Master

The X-side of the Jana Sena Party issued a press release in Telugu with the headline “Shree Shaik Jani stays away from party activities.” The press release in Telugu stated, “Mr. Shaik Jani has been directed to stay away from the activities of the Jana Sena Party. The party leadership has taken this decision after registering a police case against him. The decision will take effect immediately.”

For the unaware, Jani shares a close bond with Pawan and like many others in the film industry, campaigned for him during the AP elections. He has worked with him in the past and garnered his support for the actor, who is now the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. This decision by Pawan's party comes after numerous people asked online if any action would be taken.

What happened

According to PTI, no FIR was filed against Jani after a 21-year-old woman sexually harassed him. According to police, the woman alleged in her complaint that the choreographer had assaulted her multiple times. Police booked him under sections 376(2)(n), 506 and 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and launched an investigation.

According to the FIR, the woman stated that she joined Jani Master's team as a choreography assistant in 2019. “When she travelled for shoots outside Hyderabad, her mother did not accompany her as there were no tickets and no accommodation. For a project in Mumbai, she travelled to Mumbai along with Jani Master and two other male assistants. While staying at a hotel in Mumbai, Jani Master allegedly sexually harassed her and threatened to fire her if she told anyone. She remained silent, but he continued to harass her on multiple occasions during subsequent shoots,” the complaint said.

The complaint also states that in August of this year, on her way home from a temple visit, she was threatened not to tell anyone about it.

With contributions from PTI